TRIBUNNEWS.COM – Russian Ambassador to Singapore, Nikolay Kudashev criticized Singapore’s decision to impose sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Singapore is so far the only Southeast Asian country to have testified against Russia, joining a number of Western countries.
“We believe this decision to be a mistake, to be a wrong decision, which is against the development of bilateral relations, against the strengthening of regional cooperation,” Kudashev told South China Morning Post in an interview.
Highlighting Singapore’s position, Kudashev suggested that the country should focus on issues in the region.
“We prefer to concentrate on issues that are most important to the region rather than issues or topics that are relatively far off the Asian agenda,” he said.
Read also: Russia Releases List of Enemy Countries, There are England, Japan, South Korea to Singapore
Read also: US warns of sanctions against China if it helps Russia in war
Reported Straits Times on Saturday (12/3/2022), the Singaporean government said that it was imperative for the country to defend the principles that underpin the island’s own sovereignty and political independence.
The country has imposed export controls on goods that could cause harm in Ukraine.
Domestic banks are also advised not to deal with Russian entities.
With these sanctions, Singapore joins other countries whose political relations with Russia are under ‘special monitoring’ status.
He also said the economic deal would only be allowed under “very strict oversight” by the government.
